My devices have been used in part for ice fishing. One such device is one where an ice fisherman will set the device over a precut ice hole after he has baited the hook with a minnow. The fishing line runs off of a reel that is located on the bottom side of the tip-up device, and is supported on an upstanding shaft. A trigger mechanism is provided whereby when a fish hits the bait, the fish then starts to move the bait, the line unreels off of the reel, and the flag on the top side of Beaver Dam "Tip-Up" apparatus swings into an upstanding position signaling to the fisherman that a fish in running with the bait.
The upstanding post that was previously described as a shaft is tubular in nature and internally thereof is a solid shaft that is fixedly connected to the reel at the bottom end. As the reel is unreeled the interior shaft rotates. The top end of the shaft extends through the base plate of the "tip-up" mechanism above the ice so that the fisherman can see this shaft as it rotates to inform the fisherman that the fish is moving the bait away from where it was originally located.
In the past, when a fish is on a line, the fisherman would then pick up the entire apparatus and attempt to set the line by yanking the line gently to try to set the hook into the fish.
My new pole has been provided with special eyelets embodying important features of my invention to assist the fisherman in setting the line. In the past, many fish have been lost because in the process of setting the line, the line would break. Another problem that exists with the commonly used tip-ups is that the fisherman will employ a heavier line, and with a heavier line apparently there are fewer strikes by the fish.
Now according to my invention, a six pound test line can be used rather than a fifteen test line, and such lighter line can be more effectively used than with the heavier line.
The new pole embodying my invention can be used by the fisherman in such a way that after the fish is noted to have taken the bait, the fisherman will then lift up the Beaver Dam "Tip-up" and allow a little slack to flow and then engage the open ended eyelets of the fishing pole with the line and at the same time manually grasp an end of the line in adjacency to the handle of the pole in a rather loose sort of a way so that line can still be allowed to move with the fish should the fish require or demand further line. At this point in time, the fisherman is then in a position where he can attempt to set the hook in the fish either in a kneeling or standing position as he may wish. By employing this type of a procedure, the fisherman obtains the benefit of a fishing pole and the spring action of a fishing pole, and the lighter touch of a fishing pole all as aids in setting the line with less chance for breaking the line off at the time when the bait is set into the fish.
After the fish has been hooked, the rod can be used in the same way as a fly rod. To this end, the fisherman can manually retrieve the line along the length of the pole in a hand over hand fashion to draw the bait, hook and fish towards the fisherman and ultimately through the ice hole and thereby land the fish.